By Arthur Caplan
Over at his NBC News column, Art Caplan proposes a different approach to quarantining ebola “heroes.”
How to combat fear? Honor these heroes by giving them paid R &R, with their partner if they so choose, for 21 days. Give them a vacation in the guise of quarantine. Give them a reason to want to go back to fight Ebola. Give other doctors and nurses a reason to emulate them. Build or buy a nice hotel for these heroes.
And more, on why a general quarantine is a bad idea:
When officials respond to panic with quarantine they basically say they can’t trust public health officials, science and the ethics of doctors and nurses. There is no substitute for that trust. None. If state and city officials undermine trust out of panic or politics, then they destroy the best weapon we have to control Ebola — good science implemented by heroes.
